Search for Donald Mackay: Police are optimistic they will find remains, but say dig could take days

Updated
Thu Jun 13 19:36:17 EST 2013

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Tipoff sparks new lead in Mackay murder mystery

7pm TV News NSW

NSW police say they are "cautiously hopeful" they will find the remains of anti-mafia campaigner Donald Mackay, but say the search could last for days.

After a tip-off more than a year ago, detectives from the Unsolved Homicide Squad and the Australian Federal Police converged on farmland at Hay, in the New South Wales Riverina, yesterday morning.

Key points

Anti-mafia campaigner Donald Mackay murdered in Griffith in 1977

His body has never been found

Six people thought to be involved but no-one has ever been charged with Mackay's murder

NSW Police have begun searching an area in nearby Hay following a tip-off

They are hoping to find the remains of Mr Mackay, who was murdered in a carpark in Griffith in 1977 after blowing the whistle on a mafia drug ring that was behind a multi-million-dollar marijuana trade.

The commander of the homicide squad, Detective Superintendent Michael Willing, says there is no guarantee the latest search will be a success.

"It's important to remember that over the years since Mr Mackay's disappearance, police have received many, many pieces of information and this is just the latest piece of information," he said.

"So whilst we are cautiously hopeful that we will find something that would assist us with the investigation into Mr Mackay's death ... and I'm sure the family remain hopeful of finding some answers to this long-running mystery, we need to be realistic."

Police are yet to reveal the nature of the tip-off or whether anyone has been interviewed in recent times.

There is speculation that police are searching for Mr Mackay's remains near a well, but Detective Superintendent Willing would not comment.

However, he did confirm that police were searching in an area where there was once a structure.

"I'm not at liberty to say exactly what we're looking for; however we are focused on a particular area," he said.

"There were pieces of wood on top of an area we were searching."

Detective Superintendent Willing says a $200,000 reward is on offer for information that leads to the discovery of Mr Mackay's body.

"Information has been received and I'm asking for persons out there, again, with information about the death of Donald Mackay to come forward with information. That's why rewards are put out there," he said.

He says finding the remains will not necessarily lead to an arrest over the murder.

"If we do find remains, there's a long way to go before we get to that point," he said.

"Again, I need to say that we need to be realistic about this. There's been many searches over many years for the remains of Donald Mackay and this is the latest. Donald Mackay is a cold case."